Hi all, getting back to this post on the Conti's. So, first I have to say you have to take this with a grain of salt. I purchased the car 5 years ago and it had the original Michelins on it with 15,000 miles, and 8 years old already. They were like driving on a hockey rink, and I had a ton of wheel hop. I could break them loose in 3rd gear, so pretty dodgy. Rain? Forget about it. Anyway, so far the Conti's are great!! No wheel hop, awesome traction on the street, and I have a hard time breaking them loose after 1st gear. They really hook up, and cornering is what I expected the car to have in the first place. I have not been on track yet, so cannot judge how they would do, but on relatively rough Detroit area roads, even on bumpy corners, they tend to grab immediately after the bounce. Pretty happy with the performance so far.
Wow, you had been driving on 13 year olds tires! That’s not good if the idea of driving all out or a track day was floating in you head. Gotta give it to the Michelin Pilot Sports though for going a full 15K miles, every set that I’ve ever owned went 15K. I’m comparing that to the Pirellis on my Porsche, which last 8-9K if I’m lucky. …One caveat, there is another Pilot Sport, The Cup II. That tire was designed for track use and only comes with 4-5/16 of tread, it will not go 15K miles.
What you had were the original Michelin Pilot “Run Flats” that came with the car, we all had them. Yes, you could force them to predictably break traction at will, which was always a blast for me in low speed corners - just for grins! The later Pilot Sport and then the Pilot Super Sport are completely different animals.
I had asked earlier, did you find your Continentals in factory sizes, or are you running aftermarket wheels? I don’t recall ever seeing them as an option. They are Y speed rated BTW, that is lower than the Z for the Pilot Sports, but I don’t see myself hitting 200 mph anytime soon.
I‘d say keep us posted on how long they last but as it’s a Viper I suppose that will be a few years, at the least.
Congrats on your new rubber!
ETA Oh, I can see the sizes in the photo. Seems they are available for the front, and then 10mm increase for the rears. The later Vipers have 355’s in back. I don’t recall the fronts, but they may be larger as well, maybe 285’s?